


A Stanley Parable

by Doodled93



Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017), Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types
Genre: Appreciation for beauty, Beautiful, Boys in Skirts, Crossdressing, Fluff, Short, Stanley (Beauty and the Beast) - Freeform, Tom and Dick are not bad people, just trying to look out for their friend, non conventional standards of beauty, pretty, self love, sometimes you just have to meet someone who'll tell you something you didn't know you wanted to hear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-08 22:39:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10397751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doodled93/pseuds/Doodled93
Summary: "Pretty, pretty boys!"Handsome was a word he learned to use, because only girls could be pretty.Only ladies were beautiful.Until now.Parable: a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson(And yes a joke on the game if you know about it)





	

**Author's Note:**

> I liked that scene, okay? I just liked how genuinely delighted Stanley was-- at being dressed up, at being called pretty, maybe it was the makeup, I don't know, so...

_“Pretty, Pretty boys!”_

Stanley could admit that the giant talking wardrobe was indeed terrifying, but the leap of his heart to his throat was for completely different reasons.

His friends, equally done up in beautiful, soft fabrics and curls of ribbon, did not seem to share his sentiments.

This, unfortunately, is what he’s used to.

They gather up the luxurious fabric of their skirts, clutching at the lovely embroidery at their pinched waists, and scramble away from the delighted _Mlle. Garde-robe_. She was still fairly _singing_ about _pretty boys_.

No, not fairly—she _was_ singing, warbling tones like she wanted all of Paris to hear how pretty they were… to _see_ how pretty they were…

How pretty _Stanley_ was.

He’d never been pretty before.

Not like this.

Tom and Dick had explained to him, before, that the _rouge_ he dusted at his lips did not make him attractive—that what was attractive about him was the perpetual shadow at his jaw.

 _Handsome_ , they agreed. _Manly_.

Stanley could agree that, yes, the dark hair that grew thick on his face _was_ attractive—he just thought it would look lovely framing a red mouth, too. He was not ashamed of his pink lips, but there was something… something _daring_ and _bold_ about the stark red the ladies wore so freely.

He took pride in his hair, too, thick and smooth and _rich_ with amber and chocolate flair in the sunlight, but his friends had told him he should wear a hat if he _truly_ wanted to be considered handsome.

 _Handsome_ was a word he learned to use, because only _girls_ could be pretty. Only ladies were _beautiful_.

Until now.

Tom and Dick looked flushed and panicked even under the delicate white powder and blush on their cheeks, blues and greens and violets on their eyelids, and Stanley wanted desperately to know what colour _Mlle. Garde-robe_ had chosen for him. This magic of fabric and colour, what had she chosen? Did it bring out the gold flecks in his eyes? How did it look with his long, thick eyelashes? Stanley wanted to know.

He turned to face the still somewhat terrifying animated furniture with a wide, unashamed smile.

_Look at how pretty I am._

Stanley felt good.

Because her cries of _pretty, pretty boys_ had turned to _pretty, beautiful boy_ with his dear friends abrupt absence.

Dick and Tom had said only girls could be pretty.

But here, _Mlle. Garde-robe_ was saying otherwise.

“Beautiful boy, you look perfect! _Beau, joli garçon, vous êtes une vison! Vraiment parfait!_ ”

He could not help but puff his chest, pleased and knowing that even with Gaston around the ladies appreciated Stanley more when he puffed his chest. There was pressure there, where the dress went tight across his pectorals, but there was no sound of popped stitching.

He’d thought about dresses, before, but none of the shops had dresses made for his broad shoulders or thick arms. He’d never had the money for custom work as this clearly was.

This was a dress _made_ for Stanley.

 _Mlle. Garde-robe_ thought he was beautiful.

Stanley _felt_ beautiful.

It went beyond the dress, beyond the rouge on his lips—because Stanley was pretty, was _beautiful_ , even after his friends had left.

Stanley had never felt like much of anything without his friends, more of an afterthought.

Tom, Dick, and Stanley.

Tom, with his neatly trimmed beard and laughing eyes, Dick with his long tales and the scar that twitched his mouth forever into a wry grin, and…

Stanley. Who was a bit odd, perhaps.

Odd, maybe, but _beautiful_.

The fabric was so fine it snagged on his callused palms, the stitching so sure he flexed without worry, and this had been made for him. _Mlle. Garde-robe_ saw him and made this.

Stanley was alone, and beautiful even without his friends… and this meant he could be beautiful _with_ his friends.

 _“Beautiful bo~y,_ ” She sang, above the mob his village had come together as, and Stanley allowed himself to believe her.

 

Fin.

**Author's Note:**

> So... yeah. There were a couple of genuinely, outside of the plot Good Feels moments in the movie that I wanted to expand on, and this was one of them. Stanley just seems Very Good. I like him.  
> I also liked the little heart-to-heart LeFou and Mrs. Potts had in the midst of battle ("We're going through some things" is I think the quote?) and I like the idea that they get together and talk because if anyone needs a Good Mom like Mrs. Potts, it's everyone in this movie but especially LeFou. So might write that. And maybe LeFou/Stanley, because Stanley needs the appreciation that LeFou loves to give. 
> 
> Feel free to ask and comment to your hearts desire, but going to try to anticipate some questions?  
> >Is he/are you making him gender neutral/fluid?---I have no headcanons for this, so however you lean, it's right.  
> >Is Stanley/are you making Stanley transgender?---Not intentionally? If you see it that way, or don't, is up to you. But as I said in beginning note, I just liked how pleased Stanley seemed during the scene. But, while writing this, mentally wasn't having him pleased about the dress, being called pretty, and the makeup because it made him feel more feminine, or lady-like... just that he liked those things for himself just as much as he liked that he had a nice chest, big arms, broad shoulders, and lovely hair. On that note, go to Alexis Loizon's imdb page for... reasons. Appreciation. He's lovely.  
> >Did you know about [Historical fact that I may or may not have made a mistake about regarding Olde French Fashion/Other]?---No, I did not. Tell me more. Yes. MOAR. Tell me about men in high heels and the [redacted] they put in those face powders!  
> >How does he know Madame Garderobe's name???---He doesn't. Mlle. Garde-robe because Garde-robe means wardrobe. Mlle. is short for Mademoiselle, french respectful "Miss". The names are all so... literal. 
> 
> (And sorry am not back from my failure to post in my ongoing stories. No I do not know when updates will happen.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [oh, so pretty](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10535925) by [lgbtdisney](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lgbtdisney/pseuds/lgbtdisney)




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